Lawless Premiere: Shia LaBeouf and Guy Pearce Get Candid on the Red Carpet

08.24.12 by BJSprecher

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The premiere of director John Hillcoat's (The Road) new period crime movie, Lawless, was held at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Wednesday and ReelzChannel was there. Our own Jeremy Parsons chatted with a bearded Shia LaBeouf about playing a Depression-era bootlegger and learned quite a bit about the effects of drinking moonshine, as well as the fact that LaBeouf himself comes from "a family of crime." Parsons also spoke with Guy Pearce, who said that playing opposite LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman was "exciting and inspirational." For more from the red carpet, including a bit of Pearce hero-worship from Gene Simmons of KISS, check out the video above and then tune in to Hollywood Dailies for more movie news.

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Lawless is based on Matt Bondurant's novel The Wettest County in the World, which details his family's background as bootleggers in rural Virginia. The screenplay was written by Nick Cave (The Proposition), who also scored the movie. Here's the synopsis:

At the height of Prohibition, ambitious country boy Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf) dreams of becoming "Public Enemy #1" while reaping all the benefits that go with the gangster lifestyle. By expanding his family's moonshining business, he plots to launch a vast criminal empire while winning the heart of beautiful Amish girl Bertha (Mia Wasikowska). With his older, intimidating brother Howard (Jason Clarke) by his side, Jack has the brawn to get the job done, too. But they need a strong leader to guide them — a responsibility that falls on their eldest sibling Forrest (Hardy). Stoic and stalwart, Forrest is the kind of man who holds his cards close, and places a high value on character. Meanwhile, as the three siblings rise to power while battling treachery on both sides of the law, a mysterious woman named Maggie (Jessica Chastain) appears out of nowhere, prompting the thoughtful Forrest to question the true price of his outlaw ways.

Want to know more about bootlegging during Prohibition? Check out this cool infographic.